1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to on-line map databases and, more particularly to managing user-contributed edits to map information.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, acquiring the data necessary to create a map requires vast amounts of time and resources. The data required to create a map (“map data”) includes geographic data, such as latitude, longitude, elevation, location of geographic features of interest (e.g., bodies of water, mountains, forests); political data, such as country, state, and city boundaries, locations of streets and roadways, points of interest (e.g., government buildings, universities, stadiums), address numbering on a street; and attributes of features, such as whether or not an area is public and the nature of the surface of a street. Acquiring this data traditionally requires sending expert observers to the location to be mapped. Since experts are used to acquire the map data, it is generally deemed reliable and of sufficient quality for the map maker's usage. Because of the expense of acquiring map data, the map and the data necessary to create it are frequently proprietary. This adds to the cost of providing maps to users whether it is in hard copy form or on through online media, such as the World Wide Web.
Additionally, because of the expense involved, map data is not verified frequently. Therefore, if there is an error in or a change to the existing map data, it can take a long time for a map to be corrected or to be changed to reflect an addition. Even maps available in map websites on the World Wide Web can take a year or more to reflect a correction or addition. This can lead to very frustrating experiences for users of these maps. A user may obtain driving directions from a map website, but get lost while following such directions because there was an error in the map data, such as a closed street, or a change in street name or the like.